Sweet Memories Chap. 3
Wren Adams, 20
** I woke up the next morning feeling a bit sore down below. It was a good pain though, one that reminded me of the night before. I had loved every minute of it. I had fallen asleep being spooned by Ian. I felt warm and safe so I leaned back into his chest and fell back to sleep. Not five minutes later, my phone blared and I sat bolt upright. I pulled out of Ian's arms, not disturbing him in the slightest, and checked the clock. It was 6 a.m., way too early for someone to call, but I picked up the phone anyway.**
** I answered in the grouchiest voice I could muster, "Hello?" I growled**
** "Wren? Is that you?" A voice said from the other end of the phone. "It's Ethan, sorry to call so early, but I wanted to check on you and apologize for Tara yesterday, she's a very impulsive person, I hope you accept my apology."**
** I didn't bare any ill will towards Tara, but she had gone a bit far yesterday. "I accept you apology but I wanna hear it from Tara before I forgive her. I'm gonna have a scar across my forehead now and you can ask Ian, I'm a very vain person." I said jokingly.**
** "So you forgive her?" He asked hopefully. **
** "Of course, everyone has moments like that. She did go a bit far though, Ian gave me hell over yesterday, and he thinks I might need stitches." I said laughing, as if it was an option, I hate needles. I am so not letting a doctor near my face with one of those pointy pain dealers.**
** "She feels really bad ya know. Just to let you know she was drunk. She also wants to talk to you, hold on." I held on. I had to hear this, the resident badass apologizing to me? Wow do I feel special. Cynical? Who me?**
** A voice came over the phone then. It sounded sad and kinda painful. "Wren?" She said, "I wanted to let you know I'm sorry for hurting you yesterday. Please stay in the band? I don't want such a good player like you leaving because of something stupid that I did."**
** Tara sounded sad and genuinely sorry, "Come to band practice today and I'll make it up to you I promise!" She said. She sounded desperate. I guess she was sorry, but suspicion is in my nature.**
** "I'll come to practice today you don't have to worry Tara." I said, catering to that desperate sounding voice, "Just please, next time you bash down my shower door, use something a little safer...like a nerf bat or something!" I said, jokingly. She didn't laugh. Tough crowd.**
** We said our goodbyes and hung up. By the time I was done with the phone Ian was awake. He was in the kitchen making coffee, now how did he know where I hid my coffee beans? I walked into the kitchen, setting the phone down on the table, and noticing that he was nude. "Ian jeez, put on some underwear or something before you start walking around in my kitchen." I said pulling on that sumptuous tail.**
** "It's not like its anything you haven't seen before, Wren, just enjoy the view." He laughed pouring two cups of coffee. He set one down in front of me at the table. "So who was on the phone?" He asked sitting down across from me, and taking a sip of his coffee.**
** I lit up a smoke and took a sip of coffee before saying, "Tara, she was apologizing for yesterday." I took another sip of coffee and looked at Ian. He wore a very angry face. I quietly sipped my coffee, looking nonchalant. "And you forgave her?" He asked finally, his voice full of rage.**
** "Ian she was drunk and it was my fault anyway. If I hadn't goaded her by asked you to stay the night, it wouldn't have happened at all." I said, cautiously. He stood up and walked around the table behind me. He wrapped his arms around my neck and hugged me to his body. **
** "Still, two wrongs don't make a right Wren, and attacking you went too far. Last night wouldn't have happened if you hadn't goaded her, you say. You're right, it wouldn't have happened and that would have been regretful for both of us." He hugged me tighter. "I will never let anyone hurt you like that again." He kissed my cheek then, and I leaned my head into his stomach, letting him do it.**
** The phone rang then. This time I was smart and checked the caller ID before I answered. I was work, of course it was work. I let the answering machine get it. I asked for these days off I wasn't going to let my vacation be interrupted.**
** The Answering machine clicked to life and Justin's voice rang over it. "Wren? You there? I heard what happened last night; it's all over the papers. 'Crazed woman attacks ex-boyfriend in his apartment'. What happened?" I picked up the phone then.**
** "Justin, what's up?" I said trying to sound cheerful.**
** "Dude! What happened? Did your ex really attack you while you were in the middle of having sex with your male lover?" He said, sounding a bit fearful.**
** "Hold on a minute." I said. Taking the phone away from my face I told Ian, "Go get some pants on and grab the paper from my box down stairs." He did as he was told. **
** "Ok Justin, just to clear up some things, I was in the shower, alone, and the woman bashed in the door. Also she was not my ex-girlfriend, she's a band mate who seems to think I was mackin' on her crush. Ian was over yes but we weren't having sex." I took a sip of my cooling coffee, cold coffee is icky. "In the end the only injury I sustained was a gash to the forehead with a piece of glass from my shattered shower door."**
** Justin sighed, "So what stopped her from beating you to a bloody pulp?"**
** "Ian, he took the bat away from her. What I wanna know is how the Lufkin Daily News got a hold of this story. She didn't go home last night in a Police car; I sent her home in a cab myself." I said sipping more coffee.**
** "Wait, you sent her home yourself? Why? The woman was trying to kill you; I certainly wouldn't have called a cab, paid her fair and sent her on her merry way." He said.**
** "Justin I'm fine, isn't that all that matters? Besides she called and apologized not two hours ago." I said cautiously. Everyone seemed to think I was a frail little child, I could take care of myself, besides she had played a sneak attack, it's not like a guy can be prepared for everything right? Right.**
** "Did you at least file an assault report with the police?" Justin asked sounding exasperated. "I can't have my best waiter beaten to bloody bits by a woman I don't even know!" He was joking with me now.**
** "I think you're forgetting Justin, I'm not your waiter right now." I purred at him.**
** "Well get your fuzzy butt down here, Chris called in and I don't have a server for the morning shift." He growled, jokingly "Oh and bring that little boyfriend of yours. I'd like to thank the man who protected my favorite waiter." He hung up without saying goodbye. Typical Justin to just leave me hanging like that. **
** I hung up the phone quietly submitting to his demands. Demanding boss is demanding. Ian walked in with my mail and the paper. Perfect timing. I opened the paper and found the story on my so called "assault". Apparently that had gotten the story from an inside source. Makes me wonder who.**
** "I wanna know how gave them this scoop." I said, lighting another smoke.**
** Ian just looked at me, I know it wasn't him. That only left three possibilities, the neighbors, the land lady, or Ethan. I doubted Ethan would have freely exposed his sister to the press, and the land lady was out because she had been out at the time of the incident. That only left the neighbors and one in particular came to mind. **
** Sierra was very beautiful for a ferret. She had a nice body, very curvy and really well formed breasts. I had had sex with her only once, oddly enough by the next day, everyone in the building knew about it. I had been ribbed about it by my other neighbors for weeks, until they finally found someone else to rib on. Sierra was definitely on the top of my list of suspects. She's a total gossip hound all on her own. Let her talk to the press and she became and inside source for a front page scoop.**
** I knocked on her door, already dressed in my Pizza Hut uniform, apron and all. She answered her door in her teddy, so typical of her. "Oh my, what can I do for you Mr. Waiter?" She asked in a voice that was still heavy with sleep. I held the paper in front of her face.**
** "Why did you give this story to the press? Don't lie to me; I pretty much guessed it was you all on my own before I called Lufkin Daily News." She looked at me like I'd slapped her. **
** "Well..." She stumbled a little on that one word, "That woman is dangerous she doesn't need to be on the streets! I was only looking out for you, seeing as you didn't even call the police."**
** I was angry now. "Sierra, I want you to call the press and order a retraction on this story, the woman was drunk and you didn't even ask me before you thoughtlessly called those story hounds."**
** I shoved my phone into her hands, "Now, Sierra, I've already lost my patience with you" She dialed the number for Lufkin daily news and asked for the retraction. She shoved the phone into my chest and slammed the door in my face. "Thank you!" I called vindictively through the door.**
** Twenty minutes later Ian and I were at Pizza hut. My little beaten up pickup truck parked directly across from the front door. Ian held the door for me and I entered. Jesse was standing at the counter, she was rather petite, for a wolf. Her fur was the color of pure powdered sugar. Her head fur however was a black so rich and in contrast to her body fur it was striking. She wore glasses but behind them were beautiful eyes the color of polished emeralds. Her ears were like the rest of her body, white, however they had flecks of that same rich black of her hair across them. It was the same with her tail. She was wearing the typical pizza hut uniform, red pizza hut shirt, and sensible black slacks.**
** "Hi, Jesse." I said looking across the counter at her. Her eyes widened when she say the bandage across my forehead. She had obviously just been reading the story, Sierra had boosted on the press. She rushed around the counter and hugged me tightly. **
** "Good to see you too." I said as she squeezed all the air out of me.**
** "Wren, are you ok?! When I get my hands on the woman that did this she is so toast!" Her hand found the wound and touched it. "Babe, that's gonna need stitches." Again with the stitches, good god people!**
** "She looked over my shoulder at Ian. "Is this the guy you were having sex with when she attacked?" She eyed him suspiciously. **
** "Jesse first off, she attacked me while I was in the shower, all by my lonesome, she bashed down the glass door with a metal bat, and second it was my fault anyway, if I hadn't snubbed her by asking Ian to spend the night she wouldn't have done it. She was also drunk." I said looking up at her. She was the shortest person I knew and I still had to look up to look her in the eye.**
** "So you are sleeping with him." She smiled at me. So that's what she had been getting at. I didn't deny it, I just smiled at her. She squealed, and hugged me again. When she was done smothering me, she said "You really need to get that wound looked at. It is gonna need stitches or it won't heal right." Again with the stitches? Really?! "I don't think you should be working with that, it could be dangerous."**
** I rolled my eyes and shook my head. Justin took that as his cue to come to my rescue. "There you are." He said, towering over the counter. "Took you long enough. Now about that article-" Ian saved me by walking up beside me and putting his arm around my shoulder. Took him long enough. **
** "Jesse, Justin, This is Ian. My best friend since diaper days and my savior from a slow death with a metal bat." I said, looking to them both. Jesse grabbed my hand and pulled me away from him, still eyeing him suspiciously. She was very protective of her kids. She was only three years older than me but she was a manager too, and considered us her kids.**
** Justin, meanwhile, had made his way around the counter, his hand out to Ian. "Nice to meet ya son, you really saved me from having to find a replacement for that knucklehead." He said, nodding to me. Ian laughed, "That knucklehead is my best friend, I doubt I could live with myself if I had let him be clubbed to death by some chick he had just met." They shook hands.**
** "So," I said, "Did you call me up here to hear about the article or did you call me up here to work?" I looked at Justin, a smile spreading across his muzzle. I gasped dramatically, "I cannot believe you guys." **
** "Well can you blame us? One of the coolest guys around gets attacked by a crazed woman in his own home? Of course we're gonna drill you on it." This from Jesse. I put my paw to my forehead and shook my head. Ian interjected, "Least you have something to hang on your pizza hut wall of fame!" He gave that charming three hundred watt smile of him. **
** Justin laughed. It was a handsome, yet rough sound. It was something you wouldn't normally hear from someone below forty. Justin was twenty-nine. Jesse snorted and headed towards the make line.**
** I looked at Justin, "So do you want me on the clock, or don't you?" I asked, as cynically as I could manage. He just laughed at me. I checked my watch. It was going on fifth-teen minutes till 12. "Thank you Justin, for wasting half of my day off." I turned around and marched out the door.**
Jesse came out the door with Nick in tow. Nick was Ferret. His body fur was the typical ferret brown, and creamy splotches on his stomach and tail. His head fur was odd. It matched his body fur in color, however it curled into tight ringlets. I knew for a fact he didn't get it permed. Nick was an idiot but he definitely wasn't that gay.
** Jesse hugged me from behind. I was started to feel a little upset by everyone being so damned condescending. Leave it to Jesse to kiss the wound and make it all go away. Cynical? Who me? **
** We stood in the middle of the parking lot and I prayed for a car to pull in and hit us. Finally, Jesse let me go and kept on towards my truck, closely followed by Ian. Jesse caught up to, and passed me, leaning against the driver's side door so I couldn't unlock it. I gave her a good hard stare and tapped my foot. Nick jabbed me in the arm. "Come on Wren! Lighten up a little." He laughed. "It's not like we're doing it on purpose, we just wanted to know what really happened is all." **
** I sighed and stared and the ground. "Nick, I'm not really in the best mood right, now. I've got to go home, get changed and go to band practice." I so wanted to be gone. I just didn't know how to tell them without yelling at them and possibly hurting their feelings over a petty annoyance.**
** Jesse checked her watch, and looked up at me smiling. "Let me buy you lunch Wren." She said, still smiling. I knew that smile; she was inviting me to lunch to drill me with questions. I had a better idea. "How about I take a fifth-teen minute smoke break and answer as many questions as you can muster in fifth-teen minutes?" **
** She looked flabbergasted. I had figured out her plan and was still giving her the satisfaction of asking her questions. She would then undoubtly spread the word around to all the employees at Pizza Hut about what really happened.**
** Thirty minutes later we were on the road, heading back to my place. Where had Ian stashed his car I wonder? "Your crew at Pizza Hut is an odd bunch aren't they?" Ian said, finally breaking the silence. **
** "Yea, they're always good for a laugh if you're feeling bad. Jesse in particular." I said, keeping my eyes on the road. **
** "What was up with that look she gave me at the restaurant when I put my arm around your shoulder anyway?" He asked, looking over at me. He had taken to twiddling his thumbs. "Jesse is really protective of her 'kids'. That's what she calls her crew. She's a very loyal friend. She'd take a bullet for most of us if it came right down to it." I laughed at myself. "I actually asked her out at one point. The date was awkward. It was kinda like dating my sister; eventually we said fuck it and called it right in the middle of the movie."**
** Ian gave me a look, at that statement. I glanced at him from the corner of my eye, not wanting to take my eyes off the road. "If you keep looking at me like that I'm going to blush." I smiled; he returned my smile with an uncertain smile of his own.**
** We were finally back at my apartment. I was changing in the bathroom, and once again the door opened, I turned around to defend myself but Ian stood looking at me in the door way. I sighed, letting out a breath I hadn't known I had been holding, and started back on my hair again, I was working it into a tight braid. According to Jesse my hair was my best asset. Ian stepped behind me and his arm closed around my chest. I think he was still a bit worried about going to band practice. He was unsure of what to do. A feeling my social butterfly hadn't felt in a very long time.**
** I leaned into him running my hands along his arms. "Ian...what's wrong? You've been acting funny since I told you I had forgiven Tara." His arms tightened and his buried his face into my neck. I felt safe and warm again, entrapped in his strong arms. Nothing could hurt us in here. We were in our own little world of warmth and love. I felt it then. I loved Ian.**
** I pulled away from him then. Turning around I cupped his muzzle in my paws "Ian, you don't have to worry. You can trust my judgment a little. I know sincerity when I hear it." He nuzzled his muzzle into my paws. His face felt wet. He had been crying. I had fallen in love before, but rarely had the one I loved, loved me enough to cry for me, to be afraid for me.**
** I took my paws away from his face and pushed into his chest, pushing him back to the wall. I hugged him tightly then, it was my turn to bury my face into his neck. "Ian, I love you."**